May 5, 2017 Coats Museum News
It was April of 1962 and Cuba had sentenced 1,179 captive invaders from the ill-fated Bay of Pigs mission to thirty years in prison. The United States had resumed the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere at Christmas Island in the Pacific.
At Coats High School, it was the scene of a kickoff for the Cancer Crusade. Dr. H.C. Connell was the crusade chairman. Do you remember him? Where did he build a house in Coats? The Harnett County Republicans had planned a candidate’s supper at Barefoot’s Café. Special entertainment and women were invited. There were some folks who were likely not at the dinner because the paper printed that Mrs. Lula Beasley, Mrs. Myra Bryant, Connie Smith, and James Peques were patients at Good Hope.
The Grand Reaper was on the prowl and he had gathered Mr. Edward Washington Strickland who was father of Herbert Strickland and Mrs. Vada Gregory. Mr. Strickland was 75 years old and had lived on Route 3, Clinton. Surely the ladies in the Turlington HD Club knew his children. Four of the ladies in the club were charter members-Mrs. Paul Turlington, Mrs. Jeff Turlington, Mrs. Henry A. Turlington and Mrs. M.S. Whittington. Mrs. Paul Turlington had served as president for eight years growing the membership from twelve to twenty-two members.
Mrs. Jeff Turlington was very active in the Turlington Club until she had returned to teaching at Oakdale School where she helped organize the Oakdale HD Club. Mrs. Henry Turlington of the Turlington Club had eight years of perfect attendance and had a pin to prove it. Mrs. Turlington had served as the treasurer while Mrs. M.S. Whittington had served as club president for four years and was also the club’s first secretary (Daily Record Apr.10, 1962).
Several of our most treasured educational items on display in the museum are a box of large flashcards containing sentences that students learned to read. It was the teaching tool of Mrs. Jeff Turlington. Also on the display is a Jane and Dick reader that students used to learn words. Was there no phonics learning or was it mostly memorization during the 1940’s and 50’s? Appropriately the items are displayed on the desk of Claude Stewart who was the first principal at Coats Grove District #3 and was later principal at Ennis Grove #1 School when it burned suspiciously in Jan. of 1922. The desk was the only item saved from the burning school. Dorothea Stewart Gilbert inherited the desk from her father, Latta Stewart, and used the desk in her office at Campbell University. Dorothea had Lindsey Tart build a top portion with compartments for storage. She gifted the desk to the museum.
Another death was announced in the Apr. 11, 1962 edition of the Daily Record. Mr. Oscar Columbus Gregory, 73, of Coats, had died on Friday. He was survived by his wife, Vicy Hobbs Gregory; three sons, Herbert of Coats, and four daughters (Mrs. Elda Miller of Coats).
The Republicans had a list of candidates from Harnett. D. Vic Lee of Coats was a candidate for NC State Senate, Bill Mason for House of Representative, Clyde Ennis for Clerk of Court, Council Williams for Sheriff, P.W. Elmore for Coroner and Blaney Godwin for County Commissioner.
Mrs. Blondell Barnes was a patient at Good Hope (Daily Record Apr. 13, 1962).
Three agricultural students had made remarkable records in Coats FFA-Joe Gregory, Larry Stephenson, and Gerald Hayes. Gerald Hayes was the Morehead Scholarship representative for Coats High School. Bill Benson, 56, of Benson had passed away. He was brother to Mrs. Cornelius Denning of Coats.
Mrs. Nelson Currin, Mrs. Johnnie Avery, and Mrs. John Wiggins entertained at a cradle shower honoring Mrs. Eddie Vaughan of Fayetteville. Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Vaughn were weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs. John Wiggins. Did you notice the brothers spell their names differently?
Mr. and Mrs. Hayes Beasley had been in Coats for a few days visiting Mr. and Mrs. T. Owen Beasley. Hayes’s mother, Mrs. Lula Beasley, had been a patient for several days at Good Hope. Mr. and Mrs. Lee Parrish of Coats and mother Mrs. Addie Parrish had as their guests for the weekend the following: Mr. and Mrs. Burris Riggs, Mr. and Mrs. Colin and Pat Stubbs, Mrs. Elsie, Betty Jo and Terry Booth, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Stancil and Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey Riggs.
The Coats Woman’s Club met at Porter’s Restaurant in Dunn for their annual affair where their husbands were invited for the supper meeting. Elsewhere, Mr. James K. Denning had died on Sunday. He was 86 years old. Elders A.D. McGee and Rev. Cary Watkins officiated. His wife, Mrs. Flora Stewart Denning, survived him as well as seven daughters, two of them named as being from Coats-Mrs. W.M. Allen and Mrs. A. F. Turlington. Mr. and Mrs. Hearley Hosia Barnes had welcomed a daughter on April 14 at Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Blondell Lee (Daily Record Apr. 16, 1962). Don’t you bet that was beautiful baby knowing Blondell.
Question-did Mr. James K. Denning ever live in Troyville? Was he born before or after the Civil War? How old was he when Coats was chartered?
I do know that a Coats girl, Miss Judy Rose Elliott, was the first runner up in the “Miss Dunn “pageant. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Elliott were her parents. Would it not have been something if she had won the pageant and she and her classmate, Nora Etta Avery, “Miss Erwin,” would have been competing against each other in the “Miss NC “contest. I likewise know that both were 1961 Coats High graduates and were members of Ebenezer Presbyterian Church near Coats. Young Donna Penny was a patient at Good Hope (Daily Record April 19, 1962) and Master Randy Suggs was a patient a day later (Daily Record Apr. 20, 1962).
Miss Louise McLaughlin, sister of Ernest McLaughlin of Coats, had died Saturday morning. She had taught school in Harnett County for three years and in New York City until her death. Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Langdon of rural Coats had attended the Medical Student-Parent Day at UNC Chapel Hill. Charles and Ronnie Langdon, sons of Mr. .and Mrs. Langdon, were home in Coats during Easter break.
Miss Evangeline Stewart was also home for the weekend from Charlotte where she was a teacher. Mrs. Joy Dan Clayton Fleming was improving at home after spending days at Betsy Johnson Hospital. Mrs. Wade Stanley and Mrs. Ben Parker were hostesses to a cradle shower for Mrs. Carl Parker. The Turlington HD Club had met with Mrs. C.D. Turner. The demonstration of the month was the “Importance of Vitamin C in the Daily Meal.”
James E. Earp, Jr., son of J.E. Earp, Sr., of rural Dunn, was serving aboard the radar picket destroyer, USS Leary, operating with the Sixth fleet in the Mediterranean (Daily Record Apr. 20, 1962).
While Fred Thomas Denning of Coats was being treated at Betsy Johnson Hospital for minor shoulder injuries when his car overturned on the County Line Road and farmers were preparing the fields for crops, the newspapers flashed “US Ready to Fire 10 Story Rocket.”
Mr. and Mrs. Sherrill Moore announced the arrival of a son on April 22. Mrs. Moore was the former Linda Faye Whitman. The Oakdale HD Club had met at the home of Mesdames Naomi and Juanita Hudson. Mrs. David Ennis reported on a chair-bottoming workshop she had directed with seven chairs donated to the club (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1962).
E.M. Currin had died on Friday. Elder J.T. Lewis and Rev. R. Lewis Beal conducted the services. He was survived by three sons and five daughters (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1962).
Who recognizes these two names? Miss Alice Lou Jackson and Miss Sue Bell Jackson taught quality education at Coats School according to the Apr. 25, 1962 edition of the Daily Record. The same edition printed that the Ernest Simmons Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars had honored “Gold Star Mothers” on Apr.16th. Mrs. Blaney Godwin of Coats was one of the seven gold star mothers present. Mr. and Mrs. John Robert McLeod of rural Angier were parents of a daughter on April 24th. Mrs. McLeod was the former Sybil Richardson.
Many readers have been reading the Coats Museum News since 2009. For you, I have a question. Do you recall any instances where an aged couple died a few days apart? I do know that another instance was printed in the paper when it recorded that Mrs. James K. Denning (Flora Stewart Denning) had passed away on Wednesday. Her husband, James K. Denning, had died ten days earlier. Her services were at Gift Primitive Baptist Church with Elder J.T. Lewis and Rev. E.M. Rhines conducting. Her daughters were Mrs. A.F. (Hermie) Turlington, Mrs. W.M. (Sally) Allen, Mrs. Hazel Williford, Mrs. P.D. (Iola) Glover, Mrs. Bruce (Vivian) Byerly, Mrs. Herb (Madeline) Heary, and Mrs. Robert (Thelma) Morgan. Her sons, Edward and Maylon, had previously passed away (Daily Record April 25, 1962).
The Denning families have had such a positive impact on Coats and beyond. Last Thursday, Peggie Denning Pope dropped by the museum to give memorial donations for Lib Guy from her brother Larry Denning and from her husband Billy and her. Yes, this is the same Larry Denning you have been reading about on the Dean’s List at the UNC School of Pharmacy in Chapel Hill. Thank you, Larry and Marion and Billy and Peggie for representing the Denning name so well.
It was April of 1962 and Cuba had sentenced 1,179 captive invaders from the ill-fated Bay of Pigs mission to thirty years in prison. The United States had resumed the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere at Christmas Island in the Pacific.
At Coats High School, it was the scene of a kickoff for the Cancer Crusade. Dr. H.C. Connell was the crusade chairman. Do you remember him? Where did he build a house in Coats? The Harnett County Republicans had planned a candidate’s supper at Barefoot’s Café. Special entertainment and women were invited. There were some folks who were likely not at the dinner because the paper printed that Mrs. Lula Beasley, Mrs. Myra Bryant, Connie Smith, and James Peques were patients at Good Hope.
The Grand Reaper was on the prowl and he had gathered Mr. Edward Washington Strickland who was father of Herbert Strickland and Mrs. Vada Gregory. Mr. Strickland was 75 years old and had lived on Route 3, Clinton. Surely the ladies in the Turlington HD Club knew his children. Four of the ladies in the club were charter members-Mrs. Paul Turlington, Mrs. Jeff Turlington, Mrs. Henry A. Turlington and Mrs. M.S. Whittington. Mrs. Paul Turlington had served as president for eight years growing the membership from twelve to twenty-two members.
Mrs. Jeff Turlington was very active in the Turlington Club until she had returned to teaching at Oakdale School where she helped organize the Oakdale HD Club. Mrs. Henry Turlington of the Turlington Club had eight years of perfect attendance and had a pin to prove it. Mrs. Turlington had served as the treasurer while Mrs. M.S. Whittington had served as club president for four years and was also the club’s first secretary (Daily Record Apr.10, 1962).
Several of our most treasured educational items on display in the museum are a box of large flashcards containing sentences that students learned to read. It was the teaching tool of Mrs. Jeff Turlington. Also on the display is a Jane and Dick reader that students used to learn words. Was there no phonics learning or was it mostly memorization during the 1940’s and 50’s? Appropriately the items are displayed on the desk of Claude Stewart who was the first principal at Coats Grove District #3 and was later principal at Ennis Grove #1 School when it burned suspiciously in Jan. of 1922. The desk was the only item saved from the burning school. Dorothea Stewart Gilbert inherited the desk from her father, Latta Stewart, and used the desk in her office at Campbell University. Dorothea had Lindsey Tart build a top portion with compartments for storage. She gifted the desk to the museum.
Another death was announced in the Apr. 11, 1962 edition of the Daily Record. Mr. Oscar Columbus Gregory, 73, of Coats, had died on Friday. He was survived by his wife, Vicy Hobbs Gregory; three sons, Herbert of Coats, and four daughters (Mrs. Elda Miller of Coats).
The Republicans had a list of candidates from Harnett. D. Vic Lee of Coats was a candidate for NC State Senate, Bill Mason for House of Representative, Clyde Ennis for Clerk of Court, Council Williams for Sheriff, P.W. Elmore for Coroner and Blaney Godwin for County Commissioner.
Mrs. Blondell Barnes was a patient at Good Hope (Daily Record Apr. 13, 1962).
Three agricultural students had made remarkable records in Coats FFA-Joe Gregory, Larry Stephenson, and Gerald Hayes. Gerald Hayes was the Morehead Scholarship representative for Coats High School. Bill Benson, 56, of Benson had passed away. He was brother to Mrs. Cornelius Denning of Coats.
Mrs. Nelson Currin, Mrs. Johnnie Avery, and Mrs. John Wiggins entertained at a cradle shower honoring Mrs. Eddie Vaughan of Fayetteville. Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Vaughn were weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs. John Wiggins. Did you notice the brothers spell their names differently?
Mr. and Mrs. Hayes Beasley had been in Coats for a few days visiting Mr. and Mrs. T. Owen Beasley. Hayes’s mother, Mrs. Lula Beasley, had been a patient for several days at Good Hope. Mr. and Mrs. Lee Parrish of Coats and mother Mrs. Addie Parrish had as their guests for the weekend the following: Mr. and Mrs. Burris Riggs, Mr. and Mrs. Colin and Pat Stubbs, Mrs. Elsie, Betty Jo and Terry Booth, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Stancil and Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey Riggs.
The Coats Woman’s Club met at Porter’s Restaurant in Dunn for their annual affair where their husbands were invited for the supper meeting. Elsewhere, Mr. James K. Denning had died on Sunday. He was 86 years old. Elders A.D. McGee and Rev. Cary Watkins officiated. His wife, Mrs. Flora Stewart Denning, survived him as well as seven daughters, two of them named as being from Coats-Mrs. W.M. Allen and Mrs. A. F. Turlington. Mr. and Mrs. Hearley Hosia Barnes had welcomed a daughter on April 14 at Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Blondell Lee (Daily Record Apr. 16, 1962). Don’t you bet that was beautiful baby knowing Blondell.
Question-did Mr. James K. Denning ever live in Troyville? Was he born before or after the Civil War? How old was he when Coats was chartered?
I do know that a Coats girl, Miss Judy Rose Elliott, was the first runner up in the “Miss Dunn “pageant. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Elliott were her parents. Would it not have been something if she had won the pageant and she and her classmate, Nora Etta Avery, “Miss Erwin,” would have been competing against each other in the “Miss NC “contest. I likewise know that both were 1961 Coats High graduates and were members of Ebenezer Presbyterian Church near Coats. Young Donna Penny was a patient at Good Hope (Daily Record April 19, 1962) and Master Randy Suggs was a patient a day later (Daily Record Apr. 20, 1962).
Miss Louise McLaughlin, sister of Ernest McLaughlin of Coats, had died Saturday morning. She had taught school in Harnett County for three years and in New York City until her death. Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Langdon of rural Coats had attended the Medical Student-Parent Day at UNC Chapel Hill. Charles and Ronnie Langdon, sons of Mr. .and Mrs. Langdon, were home in Coats during Easter break.
Miss Evangeline Stewart was also home for the weekend from Charlotte where she was a teacher. Mrs. Joy Dan Clayton Fleming was improving at home after spending days at Betsy Johnson Hospital. Mrs. Wade Stanley and Mrs. Ben Parker were hostesses to a cradle shower for Mrs. Carl Parker. The Turlington HD Club had met with Mrs. C.D. Turner. The demonstration of the month was the “Importance of Vitamin C in the Daily Meal.”
James E. Earp, Jr., son of J.E. Earp, Sr., of rural Dunn, was serving aboard the radar picket destroyer, USS Leary, operating with the Sixth fleet in the Mediterranean (Daily Record Apr. 20, 1962).
While Fred Thomas Denning of Coats was being treated at Betsy Johnson Hospital for minor shoulder injuries when his car overturned on the County Line Road and farmers were preparing the fields for crops, the newspapers flashed “US Ready to Fire 10 Story Rocket.”
Mr. and Mrs. Sherrill Moore announced the arrival of a son on April 22. Mrs. Moore was the former Linda Faye Whitman. The Oakdale HD Club had met at the home of Mesdames Naomi and Juanita Hudson. Mrs. David Ennis reported on a chair-bottoming workshop she had directed with seven chairs donated to the club (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1962).
E.M. Currin had died on Friday. Elder J.T. Lewis and Rev. R. Lewis Beal conducted the services. He was survived by three sons and five daughters (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1962).
Who recognizes these two names? Miss Alice Lou Jackson and Miss Sue Bell Jackson taught quality education at Coats School according to the Apr. 25, 1962 edition of the Daily Record. The same edition printed that the Ernest Simmons Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars had honored “Gold Star Mothers” on Apr.16th. Mrs. Blaney Godwin of Coats was one of the seven gold star mothers present. Mr. and Mrs. John Robert McLeod of rural Angier were parents of a daughter on April 24th. Mrs. McLeod was the former Sybil Richardson.
Many readers have been reading the Coats Museum News since 2009. For you, I have a question. Do you recall any instances where an aged couple died a few days apart? I do know that another instance was printed in the paper when it recorded that Mrs. James K. Denning (Flora Stewart Denning) had passed away on Wednesday. Her husband, James K. Denning, had died ten days earlier. Her services were at Gift Primitive Baptist Church with Elder J.T. Lewis and Rev. E.M. Rhines conducting. Her daughters were Mrs. A.F. (Hermie) Turlington, Mrs. W.M. (Sally) Allen, Mrs. Hazel Williford, Mrs. P.D. (Iola) Glover, Mrs. Bruce (Vivian) Byerly, Mrs. Herb (Madeline) Heary, and Mrs. Robert (Thelma) Morgan. Her sons, Edward and Maylon, had previously passed away (Daily Record April 25, 1962).
The Denning families have had such a positive impact on Coats and beyond. Last Thursday, Peggie Denning Pope dropped by the museum to give memorial donations for Lib Guy from her brother Larry Denning and from her husband Billy and her. Yes, this is the same Larry Denning you have been reading about on the Dean’s List at the UNC School of Pharmacy in Chapel Hill. Thank you, Larry and Marion and Billy and Peggie for representing the Denning name so well.